NHL Morning Rumor Mill – January 30, 2014.

TSN (Sorry, no link): James Duthie asked the hockey panel what would be a good fit for Martin Brodeur. Aaron Ward suggests Chicago, Mike Johnson suggests Tampa Bay and Bob McKenzie believes he’ll stay put as the Devils will want him as insurance.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Agree with McKenzie. GM Lou Lamoriello earlier this season stated he wouldn’t shop Brodeur unless he asked for a trade. So far, Brodeur hasn’t done that, and until he does I don’t see the Devils moving him.

NEWSDAY: Arthur Staple reports agent Steve Bartlett, who represents NY Islanders winger Thomas Vanek, said his client is close to reaching a decision over his future. If he decides to test the UFA market, it’s believed the Islanders will move him at the trade deadline, if not sooner. Staple reports GM Garth Snow is believed gauging Vanek’s trade value.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Re-signing Vanek will likely cost more than what the Isles are currently paying franchise player John Tavares ($5.5 million per season). If the Isles are prepared to pay Vanek more than they’re paying Tavares, then he could stay. Otherwise, he’s a goner as he’ll earn more on the open market.

Will the Rangers move Ryan Callahan if he’s unsigned at the trade deadline?

NEW YORK POST: Larry Brooks reports contract talks between the Rangers and captain Ryan Callahan “appear at a standstill, if not an impasse”. Callahan reportedly seeks a seven-year, $42 million deal, which GM Glen Sather considers too expensive but which Callahan will almost certainly get on the open market. He believes if the Rangers shop Callahan at the trade deadline they’ll seek a player “who can step in immediately” plus a legitimate prospect.

Brooks also reports defenseman Dan Girardi seeks a six-year deal worth around $5.5 million per season, while the Rangers have countered with six years at $5.2 million per or five years at $5.7 million per.

The Rangers are also rumored to have interest in Colorado Avalanche winger Jamie McGinn, though it’s unclear if this would be connected to a deal involving Callahan or something else.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: I still have difficulty believing the Rangers would trade their captain at the trade deadline while in the midst of the playoff race. Still, I’ll acknowledge anything is possible. I don’t believe it’ll be a swap of Callahan for McGinn and something else. The Avalanche are already deep at forward and it’s believed they want to bolster their blueline. It sounds as though the Rangers are closer to getting a deal done with Girardi. Again, bear in mind we heard the same talk about contract impasse earlier this season with Henrik Lundqvist, only to see a deal announced. I wouldn’t rule out Sather getting something worked out with Callahan, but it’ll be up to the Rangers captain to be flexible, perhaps a five-year deal for around $5.8 million.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Around and around it goes. The only certainty is Parenteau for Bourque isn’t happening.

MLIVE.COM: Ansar Khan reports Detroit Red Wings GM Ken Holland says there’s little talk going on in the trade market, adding time will tell if he makes a move or stands pat. Khan points out the Wings limited cap space means if they want to add a player they’ll have to ship out some salary. If the Wings do add a player it’ll be either a top-six forward or a top-four defenseman.

70 Comments

bob
on January 30, 2014 at 1:30 pm

Glen Sather actually finds a contract to expensive!!!!! Now that’s hard to believe coming from a guy who has done nothing except give players outrageous contracts & watch them underachieve since his glory days in Edmonton

EJH
on January 30, 2014 at 1:31 pm

Trades that I think work:

1. Ryan Miller to St. Louis for Halak, Paajarvi, prospect Yannik Veilleux and a 1st rounder.
Why? It works for Blues on CapGeek and Miller can carry them to the cup. Buffalo cannot let Miller go for nothing so they have to get something. Halak at least allows the Sabres to be competitive and would be a legitimate candidate to sign on in Buffalo beyond this year. They can’t have Enroth as their only legit NHL goalie in 2014/15. Paajarvi is still basically a young prospect and has show he can be a capable NHLer after being developed in a good system like St.Louis as opposed to rushed in Edmo. Veilleux adds some needed size and depth at wing and could be a good 3rd line’r in a year or 2. The #1 pick is the icing.

2. Parenteau to Ottowa for Gryba.
Why? Ottowa wants a scoring winger and Parenteau has shown he can do that if he gets top 6 minutes. Colorado wants blueline depth and Gryba has talent.

3a. Dupres to Calgary for Stempniak or to Dallas for Eric Cole.
Why? Both Calagary and Dallas would both get a solid D prospect who seems to be at worst a 5th/6th defenseman. The Pens want to get a forward to replace Dupuis. Either Stempniak or Cole are similar enough talent with Cole having the edge given his size and past as a scoring power forward.

3b. Dupres to Toronto for Kulemin.
Why? Kulemin could replace Dupuis and might shine playing with his good friend in Malkin. Adding some young blueline depth in Toronto would give them some flexibility to do something bigger and move Fransom, Gardiner or O’Reilly.

4. Vanek to Aneheim for Palmieri, Anderson and a 2nd round pick.
Why? Aneheim is playing great but need one more big time scorer to make it to the cup and they have so much depth they could move a few talented, but spare parts, for such a reward. The Isle can break the bank to resign Vanek as a free agent (they need to start spending to field a legit team before they move to Brooklyn) while at the same time get a young, 1st round forward from NY with plenty of talent and NHL experience in Palmieri and a potential goalie of the future.

Shticky
on January 30, 2014 at 2:00 pm

1 Way too much for a UFA goalie.
2 Gyrba is not getting a top 6 winger
3a If Im the Pens Im not sending Depres for Stempniak or Cole.
3b The Leafs have a pretty decent stable of younger D men they need a top 4 with some experience not sure Despres is really a fit, and Its Rielly and no the Leafs wont move him.

If I am looking at Pitt I think a young D man coming back in a deal that I would like is Bortuzzo as opposed to Despres …IMO
I do see Franson being moved out of all the leafs d as they will have to pay him the biggest raise next year which means someone needs to go, Bortuzzo is $600,000 for the next 2 years then an RFA , Franson will command at least $4 million.

The Parenteau for Gryba could be a winner …..sure P J is a top 6 , but coming off a knee injury… limited ice time …and this would be a pure need for need true hockey trade .

Id look at Michael Ryder from the Devils as opposed to Eric Cole for a veteran scorer …but don’t count out Cammallerie ….

and maybe Vanek too Pitt to play with Crosby or Malkin …they have some pieces to make that happen too!

Ducks are looking for scoring because they want it to be known they have a serious trade chip in very good goalie depth …they will loose Selanne at years end and Koivu is getting older they need to make a good trade to fill in those positions and there best trade chip is the abundance of goalies they have …so a scoring forward is the best position to fill longer term for them.

Miller right now is way to costly of a renatl player for the Blues who do have 3 quality tenders

Shticky
on January 30, 2014 at 4:00 pm

If the Leafs were going to use a “young” Dman in the top 4 they have enough good inexperienced D men of their own to choose from. They dont need more of the same thing, They need a guy who is experienced, physical and good defensively, capable of playing lots of mins. Not more young D men who make mistakes and take time to grow, they have 3 on the team now and Granberg Percy McWilliam Brennan on the Marlies. Think guys like Orpik Scuderri (Im not saying that the. Pens will deal them just an example using teams mentioned here)

NYR4LIFE
on January 30, 2014 at 2:02 pm

I am a little confused. Anaheim 2nd in league scoring, 1st in overall standings, needs more scoring to make it to the cup? Why?

Deeee
on January 30, 2014 at 2:09 pm

It’s Depres for one thing not Dupres and it’s a good thing you’re not pittsburghs gm because stempniak is ufa and garbage, cole is garbage and kulemin is garbage that has been lit on fire and been burning for 3 days.

Mutt
on January 30, 2014 at 3:00 pm

It’s actually despres. You’re both wrong. Lol and I’m not even a Pitt fan

Thunder
on January 30, 2014 at 2:20 pm

You forgot the kitchen sink! Miller’s not worth that much, sorry, and the Blues don’t need a goalie.
Don’t get the Vanek thing at all, he’s not going to Anahiem. Not sure the Ducks need anything.

Peterman
on January 30, 2014 at 2:33 pm

It is odd that PAP gets scratched two games in a row. Roy has stated that PAP must play his way into the lineup. But the original timetable for the injury given was six weeks and he came back after only three. If you were going to trade a player, wouldn’t it make sense to showcase them first?

Either way, the Avs have been popping up a lot in the rumor mill this season. They are obviously being very aggressive in seeking a defenseman.

alforducks
on January 30, 2014 at 3:04 pm

Wow

Don’t know where to start. No way St Louis gives that much for a goalie that will walk a couple of months later and if St Louis loses in one of the rounds they end up with ZIP.

Not a chance Anaheim goes for Vanek. They do not need a high priced rental that they cannot or will not sign for future. It’s not Bob Murray’s style. Also, scoring is
not their biggest need. I could see Anaheim going for an established D-man but only if
it is a long term hockey deal. My guess is it will be LA Kings who will make the big pitch for a scoring forward. They are built for the playoffs but just don’t have enough scoring at this point and I can easily see them getting a Vanek and that would complete
the puzzle for them.

CO
on January 30, 2014 at 3:08 pm

Kulemin for Depres does make some sense. Kulemin gets trashed pretty hard but he is a very useful depth forward and would be an asset to any team in the playoffs. And there’s some question as to whether the Leafs will be able to re-sign him in the offseason. The Leafs obviously need help on defense and depres is a better prospect than anyone with the Marlies.

The question is whether Carlyle wants to go into the playoffs without Kulemin because he would be hard to replace with the guys we have got.

Shticky
on January 30, 2014 at 4:28 pm

Klui is expendable. Good 2 way game sure but so does D’Amigo. Soon going to need to get rid of salary when they are healthy they are a million over the cap with only a couple guys (Holland and Ashton) waiver exempt.

Drew
on January 30, 2014 at 4:15 pm

1. Halak is a good goalie in his own right. If they made this trade they would not give up this much for a UFA goalie who wants to play out west.
2. Parenteau would garner a lot more than Gryba, and where the hell is OttOwa.
3. ridiculous offers, especially to Toronto where they are loaded with d-men prospects.
4. Why would Anaheim disrupt team chemistry by bringing in Vanek. Especially a UFA who probably won’t re-sign and is only interested in the big money contract.

The Man__Oss
on January 31, 2014 at 12:22 am

1. Halak has been relatively consistent all year, there is zero need to change him out. UNLESS, Miller locks it down and dominates at the Olympics and destroys the Canadians and leads the USA to a gold medal. That might slightly alter the view of Ryan Miller on the Blues.
2.To move P.A. now seems more like a threat than reality. Trading strength for youth doesn’t seem valuable at this point for either team.
3b. You had to get the Leafs involved somehow. This way you can rant about Leafs trade options without hassle….sad
4. Anywhere Vanek goes he will create problems. The guy is rumored to be moving to the Wild in the off season. Everyone knows the rumor so no one will want to get too attached to him if he is traded. He also won’t draw anywhere near the value he got Buffalo because of this same reason.

On this board we kind roll with it and don’t give people a hard time about their spelling. Oh, by the way, You all are wrong. All names are capitalized. Never lower case. Grammar 101.

Thunder
on January 30, 2014 at 1:44 pm

There are ALOT of players NOT living up to the contracts they signed for. Cant understand they whole process nor do I really want to. The Rangers are CRAZY if they pay Callahan 6M per year. Compare Martin St. Louis to Callahan and pick the player you’d rather have on your team. MSL makes 5.65M PY and throws down 80-90 PPY. Callahan is good for half that point total, both players with give their all for the team. Compare might be the wrong word here. Just my opinion.

Paddy
on January 30, 2014 at 4:37 pm

I’m with you on this one, Thunder! Mind you, I think St. Louis is a bargain, so NYR shouldn’t expect such a good deal for a comparable player.

I love Callahan and absolutely do not think he should be signed for 6yr/$42M. The problem for the Rangers – and any team with big UFAs – is that *somebody* will pay that stupid salary. You don’t have to… but then who do you replace that player with?

If I’m GM, I trade him if he maintains that demand. But I realize the Rangers will probably decide they need to bite the bullet on Callahan’s contract.

NYR4LIFE
on January 30, 2014 at 5:28 pm

@Paddy
I don’t think St. Louis and Callahan are anywhere near comparable. He puts up twice the numbers as Callahan. So it really wouldn’t be re-signing Callahan at a bargain price. St. Louis is grossly underpaid. Callahan at anything over 5.5 is overpaying.

Thunder
on January 30, 2014 at 5:58 pm

@NYR4LIFE, I think I was trying to say that in the right way. LOL

Paddy
on January 30, 2014 at 6:25 pm

@NYR4Life – Yeah, after I typed “comparable” I immediately regretted it, was just too lazy to change it

I’d also take St. Louis over Callahan six days a week and twice on Sunday. I still think the Rangers might get hamstrung to overpay Callahan (though it won’t be $42M), as it might just be harder to replace his attributes, regardless of the cost.

Mind you, I’m going out on a limb with your name and imagining you’d the Rangers a lot more than me. Do you not think he’s not as hard to replace (for leadership, grit, etc)?

NYR4LIFE
on January 30, 2014 at 7:49 pm

I think he would be missed. But I also think there are other guys that could easily take a leadership role over without a problem. Girardi, Staal, Nash, Maybe even Kreider down the road. His numbers wouldn’t be that hard to replace imo (not internally, through free agency). They have a lot of Rfa’s and Ufa’s to deal with next year. Ufa’s Callahan, Girardi, Carcillo, D. Moore, Boyle, Pouliot, Stralman. Rfa’s Brassard, Zuccarello, Kreider Falk, J. Moore. I am very interested to see what their plan is after this year. What they do with Richards. Imo he will be bought out no matter what. And what they do on their bottom 6 considering I don’t think they have too many NHL ready prospects on offense or defense. They have a ton of hard decisions to make between now and free agency.

Shticky
on January 30, 2014 at 8:34 pm

I dont see any way not to buy out Richards. Frees up a tone of space and gets rid of the dumb “retirement penalty” contract. He just isnt worth it, imo.

NYR4LIFE
on January 30, 2014 at 8:54 pm

Agreed Shticky, There is just no way around a buy out for Richards. To be honest, I was shocked they didn’t do it before this season.

Jonathan E
on January 31, 2014 at 8:58 pm

I actually don’t see Sather buying out Richards… Unless Richards is replaced by another center like ufa Stast ny or unless a trade is made for a top tier center, Sather probably won’t buy out Richards contract. Truth of the matter is, other than Stastny, there are no ufa centers anywhere close to being able to put up the offensive numbers Richards puts up. Also Richards is a professional, if in three years his role with the team becomes a healthy scratch most nights or only playing on the 4th line & power play… I’m sure Richards would waive his no trade clause and agree to be traded to a team that would give him more playing time and would also find his cap hit desirable. The last three years of the contract, Richards salary is $1,000,000. Which would make his low salary and high cap hit very desirable for the teams encroaching the salary cap minimum.

Mick
on January 30, 2014 at 2:36 pm

Rangers will not trade their two key UFAs. And, i think Callahan would want to stay a Ranger as well and lower the demands in late June/early July. If not then it will be very unfortunate but the Rangers can’t pay him that much of cap hit and disallow themselves of not improving the team by getting a 1st line center.

Miller is not going to the Blues.

The Man__Oss
on January 31, 2014 at 12:30 am

Why can I see the Caps making a push for him?

Shticky
on January 31, 2014 at 2:04 am

Hmm good thought, Man. This kind of makes sense really.

alforducks
on January 30, 2014 at 3:11 pm

Re: Girardi
On a six year deal they are 300K apart 5.5 mil versus 5.2 mil ?
Am I missing something ? They are creating all this drama over 300K which is less than
1/2 of 1% of their cap ? Take him to lunch, pick up the check and meet 2/3’s of the way,
go home and sleep well.

NYR4LIFE
on January 30, 2014 at 4:12 pm

From what I have read elsewhere it isn’t a matter of money. The Rangers have supposedly countered the 6 year 5.5 million deal. 1 was 5.2 million over 6 years and the other 5.7 for 5 years.

Drew
on January 30, 2014 at 4:20 pm

Girardi will get done, sooner than later. Callahan is going to have to settle for a million per less otherwise I believe he will be traded. Unfortunately the rangers won’t get as much as they would like being as Callahan is UFA and has a extensive injury history. Callahan probably thinks he has the rangers by the nads.

alforducks
on January 30, 2014 at 3:15 pm

Re; Red Wings
My 2 cents is that this team is in decline, spends to the cap top, have lost a lost of older
quality players the past few years, their best players are AGED and getting injury prone.
While they do have some quality youth, don’t they really need to rebuild before they end
up being the next Calgary ? I recall that Calgary kept delaying and delaying the rebuild
process and causing more pain for the future. They had a great run, time for rebuild.

BCLeafFan
on January 30, 2014 at 3:46 pm

Sad but true. Having seen Detroit prove everyone wrong a bunch of times, it wouldn’t surprise me if they come on strong and make the playoffs but they are definitely not the team they once were. Getting Datsyuk back would be huge for them – could be the TSN turning point in their season.

alforducks
on January 30, 2014 at 3:59 pm

I have no doubt that Holland could make a deal or two and make the playoffs,
but how far would they go and would they have to give up more of the future just
to make the playoff’s ? They could get a TON of picks and prospects at trade deadline for their older players.

Thunder
on January 30, 2014 at 3:55 pm

I see them on the decline as well, they have a good team but they need to make some moves very soon to re-establish the great team they once were. They could still make a run, and they don’t quit! What has it been, 21 or 22 straight playoff appearances?

Drew
on January 30, 2014 at 4:25 pm

Red Wing management will never admit they need a re-build. Everyone has held them up as being the prime NHL franchaise and to admit they are losing that title would be fly in the eye. The wings have some decent prospects but do not have the caliber of players they need to replace all the retiring guys.

Liddy5
on January 30, 2014 at 8:52 pm

The thing is, they are actually rebuilding. Unlike awful franchises like the Oilers though, they don’t need to tank in order to do it. Great leadership, a lot of depth and good coaching helps a lot.

Holland has fully admitted that the team could miss the playoffs (the past two years) because they are not willing to mortgage the future for a quick fix. They wouldn’t part with a 1st rounder in deals for Pominville and J-Bo, for example.

We are already seeing a group of young players making a significant impact on the team right now (Nyquist, Tatar, Jurco, Sheahan, Smith, Glendening). They have Pulkinnen, Jarnkrok, Ouellet, Sproul, Marchenko and Backman who are all close to being NHL ready, plus a number of high ceiling guys that are farther away (Mantha, Frk, Janmark, Nastasiuk, etc.).

Once this group solidifies itself and finds its identity Wings management will go out and add some free agents or make a trade. The only glaring weaknesses on the team are size up front and a minute-eating puck-moving defenseman.

RK
on January 30, 2014 at 4:33 pm

how’d your ducks do against this old wings team in the playoffs?

The wings just need to get healthy, after sochi they should be ok. As far as a rebuild goes that won’t happen, nor does it need to happen. They have a lot of quality prospects and this year has been great for their development. The kids have kept them afloat so far this season, once they get their top 3 scorers back they will be right back in it.

alforducks
on January 30, 2014 at 4:58 pm

Get Real
They beat the Ducks and almost beat Chicago but that’s not the point.
Every team has a few quality prospects. Check the Wings roster from
just 3 years ago, they have NO ONE that going to replace the high
quality D-men they have lost. Take a look at current Roster, do ya think
Franzen is going to be the player going forward that he was in the past ?
Even guys like Zetterburg are injured more often. Perhaps you think
Bertuzzi / Cleary / Samuelsson will find the fountain of youth ?
You can put another patch on the roof and make it thru the winter again
or you can decide that it time to bring in a roofer and redo the roof and
get the pain over with at one time.

Shticky
on January 30, 2014 at 5:20 pm

Not to mention Alfredsson and Weiss, I agree yes the wings have some very good prospects but half the team is on the wrong side of 30. One maybe 2 more years and this is Flames 2.0. They dont have enough high end talent type prospects that are going to replace the caliber of players that are 33,34,35 years old or older.

Liddy5
on January 30, 2014 at 8:54 pm

Hey Schticky, enlighten us on all these mystery mid-30s players that play key roles on the Wings.

Liddy5
on January 30, 2014 at 8:45 pm

Haha, nice wishful thinking from a Ducks fan there!

Shticky
on January 30, 2014 at 9:07 pm

Lets look at reality, 7 guys in top 9 forwards over 30 or on injured reserve, Miller and Eaves 28-29 years old. Kronwall Quincey. 2 of the top 6 D 28-30 thats 13 guys on the team reaching the point of decline in a career almost half the team. Yes there are some decent guys coming but not enough of them, and not enough guys with the same amount of natural talent as the guys that are there.
Out of all those guys how long do you think its going to take them to be comparable to this aging core? Mantha is a ways off, being any kind of impact player Kindl and DeKyser are imo along way off being a true number 1. D Ill stick by what I said in the next year or 2 the Wings are in for some rough times. There is too big a gap in the age of the players that will be gone in a few years and the prospects being high end impact type players in the future.

Now its your turn, name the 13 prospects that are going to replace all these guys aside from the ones already playing for the Wings and how many are going to be the same skill set and put up the same type numbers as Datsyuk Zetterberg Franzen have for the past decade or so?

Probert Fan
on January 31, 2014 at 12:12 am

Game,set and match to Shticky

Liddy5
on January 31, 2014 at 4:54 pm

So now you’ve changed your argument from 33+ to 30+. 30 years old for many players is still in a player’s prime. Your argument (like most of your arguments) is subjective and based on conjecture and moving criteria.

You said 33+ core players. I see 4 total (Datsyuk, Z, Franzen and Kronwall).

Of those 4, yup, there is no one ready to take over for Z and Datsyuk. But guess what? They are 2 of the top 5-8 players in the world still at their age, so it’s kind of hard to have replacements ready immediately. Franzen is a secondary scorer and Kronwall has been actually improving each year. Ericsson, Dekeyser and Smith have all been receiving increased responsibility and if you actually followed the Wings instead of pretending to you’d know that they are legit.

Bert, Cleary, Samuelsson, Quincey (under 30 anyway bud), Eaves, Miller, etc. are all spare parts that are filling depth roles on the team. All but Miller are UFA. No core players to be found, but nice try.

Alfredsson was a one year stop gap measure because he wanted to come here. He’s not an integral part of the team’s core.

Weiss is 30 and signed to a reasonable amount of money relative to an increasing cap. He’s had two freak injuries in a row, and other than that has proven to be quite healthy.

Now to the replacements:

On defense, of those signed beyond next season, only Kronwall is over 30 years old. Let that sink in for a moment. Ericsson is the #2, one of the best shutdown defenders in the league and Swedish Olympian. Kindl and Smith are offensive former first round picks. Kindl has taken a step back this year, but Smith has been projected for years to be a top pair defenseman and is finally showing why. Dekeyser was wanted by all 30 NHL teams (including the Leafs) last season and is already a solid 2nd pair guy.

Ouellet and Sproul and former award winning offensive defensemen, two of the best defensive prospects in hockey. Backman is already a top Swedish defenseman in the SHL.

Up front, Calle Jarnkrok has been compared to Henrik Zetterberg for years and is in his first year of NA hockey.

Tomas Tatar, Tomas Jurco and Gus Nyquist have all dominated the AHL and are dominating possession in the NHL already. These guys are already borderline top-6 forwards, like it or not.

I haven’t even gotten into the development of Helm and Abdelkader, Riley Sheahan, and the bevy of prospects in Grand Rapids that the team has no room for.

Get a clue. I look forward to your rebuttal where you again change the criteria for your argument.

Shticky
on February 1, 2014 at 3:55 am

Not changing anything I said in the next year or 2 the Wings are going to be in trouble with the age of their players there are 4 that are over 35 right now. In the next 2 years that number will be 7 with quite a few others pretty close read do the math its not changing any arguruement.
You asked for a list of mid 30 players that play key roles Id say Alfredsson 2nd leading scorer on your team is that where would they be with out Alfredsson and his 32 points ? Not in the playoffs thats for sure.
The top 5 guys for points are all over 34 (mid thirties) so in other words pretty much top 2 lines then a pretty good part of the “role” players on your team are aswell. This means your team is aging and could be in trouble in the next year or 2.
Every team in the league has prospects “buddy” and some prospects dont work out Elite prospects, Hockeys future other such scouting type sites all have the Wings in the middle of the pack around 10 as far as rankings go and all say the same thing “few high ceiling types” (and guys like Fric and Mantha are aways off same can be said about prospects playing in Sweden) so good for the Wings and the 3 guys that are border line top 6 guys that are on the team now and all the d prospects but who is going to replace all the forwards who put up the type of numbers the Wings will need to make the playoffs in the next couple years?
Im not pretending to follow the team or care particularly, and its an opinion shared by a few here not an argument. The Wings are an older team that should be rebuilt. When several people are saying the same thing and have the same opinion maybe, just maybe there might be some truth there and the only guy getting snotty, saying everyone how wrong everyone is should get a “clue”.

Doug
on January 30, 2014 at 3:53 pm

Not sure why the issue of Vanek making more than Tavares keeps coming up. There’s been nothing to indicate JT would have an issue with that. JT is on his first contract, he will be very well compensated on his next.

Aki Berg
on January 30, 2014 at 11:15 pm

And what is the big deal if he does Tavares was 22 when he signed that deal and at the end of it when he is 27 he will make at least double that… If JT wants a good team they need to spend money so my guess is he won’t worry about things like that

Styxcanada
on January 31, 2014 at 12:38 am

Yeah that’s folks who don’t know JT. He really strikes me as team first and would be fine with Vanek getting paid as long as it was so much that it made it harder to afford other pieces. If JT was going to be pissed he’d be pissed about all the guys making more than he does that aren’t even close to as good as he is. He signed a team friendly deal which speaks volumes about his character.

doncos
on January 30, 2014 at 4:14 pm

sabres should trade, waive ,or buyout the following players
1. ville leino- buyout . i wish we can do that today.
2. drew stafford- trade and pay 1.5 mill of his salary for the next two years if need be
3. ryan miller- trade- only if he does not resign by trade deadline
4. tyler myers- trade- he can probly give us a very good return but rather keep him in the long run
5. c. ehrhoff- trade- not producing numbers the sabres thought he would . good dman but we can get something back in return.
6. m. grigorenko- trade- package him with myers we can deff get something good then.
7. j. enroth- trade- another marty biron dont need him
8. tyler ennis- trade- not willing to pay 4 plus million for a guy that wont put up numbers that he should be doing.

Clarky
on January 30, 2014 at 6:21 pm

I get most but not Grigs and Meyers, two of the top young guys on Buffalo to build around since they are a good 4-years of drafting and improving before they can compete again.

bullwinkle88
on January 30, 2014 at 10:15 pm

I suggest you change your name to Crazy Doncos.

The Man__Oss
on January 31, 2014 at 12:45 am

Hey Bullwinkle88, this we can agree on.
Most of these trades are silly.
The first 3, O.K. they seem reasonable. Then the wheels fall off.
First thing I noticed was you traded both goalies…..hmmm
Second was that you suggested they trade almost every big named player Buffalo has. Only Ott, CoHo and Moulson would be left, with two able to leave at the end of the year….hmmm
Third, Grigs is a young kid. Why would you give up on him? He hasn’t had the proper background instruction to be able to be evaluated…hmmm

I could go on, but ….hmmm

crazy doncos
on January 31, 2014 at 6:05 am

good points. but i was just venting on the sabres. we should have upwards to 45 mill in cap space so hopefully we do something

The Man__Oss
on February 1, 2014 at 4:51 pm

Venting is ok, especially about our Sabres.
Well tell me some of your ideas to replace these guys.
Where do you spend the $40 million?

I don’t like to think about it, but I have an odd feeling about Dan Boyle for Callahan. Fits both needs and then Rangers have interest in Boyle. Both UFAs. Sharks need more heart and soul. Not sure if Callahan’s speed works with the Sharks, or that they could adequately replace Boyle though.

one for the thumb
on January 30, 2014 at 6:10 pm

vanek to ducks for gibson

Ryan
on January 30, 2014 at 7:52 pm

How about this:

To TOR: Kris Letang, Beau Bennett

To PIT: Franson, Gardiner, Kulemin, 2nd round Pick

Pit gets younger with the option to sign Fanson in the offseason, Tor gets legit top 2 dman to take pressure off of Phaneuf

alforducks
on January 30, 2014 at 8:15 pm

Do you really want to commit 15 mil a year to Dion & Krissie ?

Shticky
on January 30, 2014 at 8:29 pm

Nvm the Pens are not doing that deal and it makes no sense from a Leaf point of view either, why do the Pens want 2 more D and what on earth would the Leafs want with Letang and that contract? Im not sire anyone is trading relatively no money in contracts one way and taking 7 mill back.

Thunder
on January 30, 2014 at 8:34 pm

I am going out on a limb here but what about Yakapov for Callahan? I don’t know how to work out all the details but I know some of the experts on here will. lol. Good Bad Ugly Nonsense? Bash and trash if necessary. Just a thought.

Shticky
on January 30, 2014 at 8:46 pm

As a leaf fan Ive seen much much worse, but I think if the Rangers were to deal Callahan they could do better, with maybe another prospect and a pick to build a bit more for the future, game wise the exact type player that the Oil should look for imo but health issues make it a pretty big risk.

Styxcanada
on January 31, 2014 at 12:32 am

I’m pretty sure the Oil won’t move Yak for a UFA no matter how good he is. They aren’t making the playoffs this year and need assets that are going to stick around.

Cliff
on January 30, 2014 at 9:53 pm

As a Pens fan I would not be in favor of this deal. First off, it does not make the Pens younger. Letang and Franson are roughly the same age and Bennett is more than a year younger than Gardiner. The Pens average age is 28.6 and Kulemin is 27.5. I do think Letang will be overpaid when his new contract kicks in next year. I would put his worth, considering comparable players (Karlsson and Pietrangelo), at $6.25M, a million less than he will be making per season. So I personally don’t think that the step backwards the Pens would be taking overall in skill would be worth the amount of cap space they would gain after resigning Franson and Kulemin to new contracts. Replace Gardiner with Rielly and I’d say you’re in the ballpark. Also, for what it’s worth, the Leafs don’t currently have a 2nd round pick in either of the next two drafts.

Cliff
on January 30, 2014 at 10:21 pm

Also, for what it’s worth, it was being reported by some of the Pittsburgh press last summer that when Shero was negotiating the Letang contract, Letang would not sign without a gentlemen’s agreement that the NTC in his next contract be retroactive to this current season. Obviously I was not “in the room” so I can’t say if this stipulation was actually out there or if Shero agreed to it. I will say that I believe Shero to be a man of integrity and if he did in fact make such an agreement he would honor it even though it would not be legally binding. Thus making all the recent Letang trade speculation theoretically moot.

oxymoron
on January 30, 2014 at 10:02 pm

love cally but not for that price. great clubhouse guy, heart n soul of the team but obviously u can put a price tag on that lol. cally deff needs to lower his asking price n take the hometown discount. pay him 4.5 a year at max. if he wont take it than ship him out. id like to see a deal done with the Avs.
Callahan and Nieves(playing in ncaa now but one of ther top prospects) FOR O’Reilly and McGinn.
Comment n tell me what yous think

Cliff
on January 30, 2014 at 10:38 pm

@ alforducks or any other Duck fan out there: are you familiar enough with Simon Despres to evaluate a Despres for Palmieri swap?

I was going to say Callahan to the Sens for some combination of D’s and prospects but then I went and looked up his career points and stuff. I get that he’s a “heart and soul” guy…but one 50+point season and he thinks he’s worth HOW much? And the Sens already have a glut of these type players. Vanek has lost a step, and Moulson is a streaky player. I don’t know who Bryan Murray is really looking at but I hope it’s not any of these guys.

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